Fatigue Strength

(6.4, 6.7-6.8, 6.11)

MAE 316 – Strength of Mechanical Components

Y. Zhu

1 Fatigue Strength
Fatigue Strength (6.8)
 Up to now, we have designed structures for static loads.
t
d
P w P

 max  S y
P
(σmax is also constant)

2 Fatigue Strength
Fatigue Strength (6.8)
 What if loading is not constant?

 Even if σmax ≤ Sy, failure could occur if enough cycles are

applied.

3 Fatigue Strength
 S-N Diagram (6.4)
Sf (fatigue strength) - stress level
at which a corresponding number
of cycles (N) will lead to failure
(crack initiation)

Se (endurance limit) - stress

level below which failure will
never occur

4 Fatigue Strength
Fluctuating Stresses (6.11)
σ

σmax

σmin

1
 m   mean  ( max   min )
2
1
 a   alternating  ( max   min )
2
 min
R
 max

 If σmin = - σmax, this is known as “fully-reversed” loading.

5 Fatigue Strength
Endurance Limit (6.7)
 The simplest design rule to prevent fatigue failure is

 applied   max  S e

 This is a valid concept, but not quite so simple in reality.

 Se is determined experimentally.
 Simple approximate Se formulas exist for steel, but must be
used carefully – better to have actual data.
Se '  0.5Sut Sut  200 kpsi (1400 MPa)
Se '  100 kpsi Sut > 200 kpsi
Se '  700 MPa Sut > 1400 MPa
 where Sut = ultimate strength and Se’ = unmodified, laboratory
determined value
6 Fatigue Strength
Endurance Limit (6.7)
 For real design we will modify Se’ to account for the surface
finish, stress concentration, temperature, etc.

 These effects decrease the effective endurance limit.

7 Fatigue Strength
 Predicting Fatigue Life (6.8)
 High-cycle fatigue life (N > 1000 cycles)
 Typical S-N diagram for steel Equation of a line (y  ax  c) :
log S f  a (log N )  c

Sl’ log Sl '  a (log103 )  c  3a  c

log S e '  a (log106 )  c  6a  c

Se’ 1 S'
 a   log l
3 Se '
(log Sf)
( Sl ' ) 2
 c  log
Se '
 S f  10c N a for 103  N  106 cycles
(log N)
or
1
N  (S f 10 )
-c a

8 Fatigue Strength
Example
 Find Sf of 1020 hot-rolled steel if the required life is
250,000 cycles, bending loads.
 Given: Sut = 57 ksi for 1020 steel
 Note: For steel, Sl’ = 0.9Su (bending), 0.75Su (axial), and 0.72Su
(torsion).

 What is the life if Sf = 40 ksi?

9 Fatigue Strength
 High Cycle Fatigue
(6.9-6.10)

MAE 316 – Strength of Mechanical Components

NC State University Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

10 High Cycle Fatigue

Modified Endurance Limit (6.9)
 Modified endurance limit is defined as

S e  k a kb k c k d k e k f S e '

 ka = surface finish factor = aSutb

Table 6-2 Surface finish factors ka

a b
Surface finish MPa (kpsi)
Ground 1.58 (1.34) -0.085
Machine or cold drawn 4.51 (2.7) -0.265
Hot rolled 57.7 (14.4) -0.718
As-Forged 272.0 (39.9) -0.995

11 High Cycle Fatigue

Modified Endurance Limit (6.9)
 kb = size factor
 Axial loading
 kb = 1
 Bending and torsion
 kb = 0.879d-.107 (0.11 in ≤ d ≤ 2 in)
 kb = 0.91d-.157 (2 < d < 10 in)
 kb = 1.241d-.107 (2.79 ≤ d ≤ 51 mm)
 kb = 1.51d-.157 (51 < d < 254 mm)

 d is the diameter of the round bar or the equivalent diameter

(de) of a non-rotating or non-circular bar (Table 6-3).

12 High Cycle Fatigue

Modified Endurance Limit (6.9)
 kc = loading factor
 1 (bending)
 0.85 (axial)
 0.59 (torsion)

 kd = temperature factor
ST
 If endurance limit (Se’) is known, kd  (Table 6-4) or use
S RT
equation
kd  0.975  0.432 103  T  0.115 105  T 2  0.104 108  T 3  0.595 1012  T 4

 If Se’ is not known, use kd = 1 and temperature-corrected tensile

strength (Sut) (see Example 6-5 in textbook)

13 High Cycle Fatigue

Modified Endurance Limit (6.9)
 ke = reliability factor

Table 6-5 Reliability factors ke

Survival Rate (%) ke

50 1.00
90 0.89
95 0.87
98 0.84
99 0.81
99.9 0.75
99.99 0.70

14 High Cycle Fatigue

Modified Endurance Limit (6.9)
 kf = miscellaneous-effects factor
 Corrosion
 Electrolytic plating
 Metal Spraying
 Cyclic frequency
 Frettage corrosion

 If none of the above conditions apply, kf = 1

15 High Cycle Fatigue

Fatigue Stress Concentration Factor (6.10)
 Kf = fatigue stress concentration factor

 Kf = 1 + q(Kt – 1)
 q = notch sensitivity
 Kt = stress concentration factor

 Kf can be used to reduce Se (multiply Se by 1/Kf) or to modify the

nominal stress (σmax = Kfσnom).

16 High Cycle Fatigue

Fatigue Stress Concentration Factor (6.10)
Figure 6-20 Notch sensitivity for bending and axial

Figure 6-21 Notch sensitivity for torsion

17 High Cycle Fatigue

Example
 For the plate shown below, find the maximum allowable load F
for the plate to have infinite life.
 Given: 1018 cold-drawn steel, Sy = 373 MPa, Sut = 442 MPa

t = 10 mm

d = 12 mm
F w= F
60 mm

18 High Cycle Fatigue